U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer was in Western New York on Monday to meet with local grape growers and call on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to purchase large quantities of concord grape juice now available following a recent contract cancellation.
"Earlier this year, on top of skyrocketing costs, many Western New York farmers had their Concord grape contracts cancelled by Refresco, leaving growers in a lurch and without the certainty they rely on to know they’ll have a market for their harvest," Schumer said. "I’ve worked with USDA on surplus grape purchases before, and I’m urging the USDA to again provide certainty to Upstate farmers, put American-grown grapes to good use, and strengthen the domestic food supply chain we all depend on."
Fellow senator Kirsten Gillibrand also sent an open letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, highlighting that 130 growers — representing 2,600 acres of grape production — were affected, which causes a domino effect across the supply chain.
"The loss of these farms would have drastic consequences for the producers themselves, other processors, transporters, and equipment manufacturers as well as negatively impacting the economies of small, rural towns across Western New York," she wrote.
Chautauqua County is the largest grape-growing county in the country outside of California, producing 150,000 tons of grapes to be used in products such as juices and jellies.